Caramel Apples

So, I did something kind of halloween-y.

When you're in college and can't go trick or treating or basically do anything except go to a party with girls who are hardly dressed, it doesn't feel so much like halloween anymore.

But me and my roommate made caramel apples. It helped a little.

Except, there went my points for the day.

I'm not mad. Those are what the extra points are for, right?

Just used some caramels, with a splash of heavy cream and vanilla. Boom.

We used mini chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and graham cracker pieces.

Yes, that's a knife in the one.

My roomie doesn't like popsicle sticks. Long story.

Pumpkin Roll

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I had something more halloween-y to post for today, but I don't. Fall reminds me of pumpkin (which I actually pronounce "punkin" and keep wanting to type that.) and my favorite dessert with it are pumpkin rolls! Something about the pumpkin and cream cheese inside together... mmmmmmm. I'm having a hard time not eating the entire thing.

Pumpkin Roll
Adapted from Libby's

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened a bit
1 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 10x15 (i didn't have so i used 9x13) pan, and line with waxed paper. Grease and flour paper.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched, but doesn't stick to your finger. Immediately loosen and turn cake over onto a dish towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. carefully peel off wax paper. Roll up the cake and towel together, and let cool.
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Unroll cooled cake, and spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake without towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Creamy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Mexican is one of our favorite things to make. There's always very few ingredients, and it's absolutely delicious. Enchiladas are never a big hit for me, but because I'm on a budget and these weren't too labor intensive, we decided to give them a try. Holy cow, are they good. I wasn't sure how I felt about the sour cream mixture on top as we were preparing them, but it literally gave them that kick that made me love them.

We halved the recipe, because there was no reason we had to make 8. We all decided we'd definitely be making them again, though!

Creamy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
source: www.chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

2-3 cups shredded chicken

1-1/2 cups salsa

2 cups shredded cheese (we used a low-fat mexican blend)

1 14 oz can of Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce (we only made four enchiladas, not eight and barely had enough.. maybe because the tortillas we used were so big? If I ever make 8, I'm definitely using 2 cans.)

8 tortillas

1 cup sour cream (we used low fat)

1/2 can cream of chicken (we used 99% fat free)

In a bowl, combine the cooked shredded chicken, salsa, and about 1 1/2 cups of the cheese.

Dip the tortillas one by one into the enchilada sauce, and place them in a 9x13 pan. Place the chicken/salsa/cheese mixture into each one (about 1/8 of the mixture) and roll it up. We folded ours burrito style? Repeat for remaining tortillas and line up in the pan. It should even out to 8 enchiladas.

For the creamy topping, in a separate bowl, mix 1 cup sour cream with 1/2 can cream of chicken. Spread over the enchiladas, and top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes.

Mine added up to about 10P+ per enchilada. Again, we used burrito-style tortillas (they were huge) so your p+ may differ.

Turkey Chili Taco Soup

Ok, let me just start by saying I was never a big fan of chili. I always hated beans. But this soup is amazing. And I didn't even mind the beans! Or the onions, which is something else I've never been a big fan of...

I can't wait for next week to eat my leftovers. <3


Turkey Chili Taco Soup
source: www.skinnytaste.com
According to Gina: Servings: 9, Serving Size: 1-1/4 cups, Points+: 5 pts

1.3 pounds 99% lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (i didn't use because i didn't have.)
10 oz can rotel tomatoes with green chilies
15 oz can of corn, drained
15 oz kidney beans, drained
8 oz tomato sauce (i just used ragu)
16 oz fat free refried beans (i didn't use.)
1 packet taco seasoning
2 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth.

In a large pot, brown the turkey on medium heat. When cooked, add onions and peppers and let cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Top with whatever you would top a taco with! We used a mexican cheese blend, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

The Best Oatmeal Combo I've Ever Made

So I've been playing around with oatmeal lately, and could NOT find a good combination of things to go with it. I finallyyyy got a good one.. it was absolutely delicious. It reminded me of apple pie. Mmmm

Source: Original

1/2 cup oats (I think mine are old-fashioned? hm.)
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
pinch salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 apple
1 tablespoon chopped pecans

Boil milk with pinch of salt. Stir in oats, let simmer about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chop up apple into bite-size pieces. Put cooked oatmeal in bowl and stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, apple, and pecans.

P+: 9. Obviously using fat free milk, water, or different toppings with the oatmeal will change P+ value.

FYI:

I am on weight watchers, just in case you're wondering why I haven't really posted anything "healthy" yet. I like to bake. Sue me. I'll make a batch of something just to do it, keep a little for myself, and give the majority away (most of the time). Everything in moderation, right?? :)

Default Chocolate Chip Cookies

I honestly can't even remember where I got this recipe from. I might have gotten it 5 years ago when I was in like, middle school. I've had it so long because it's the best recipe I've ever made. The outside of the cookies are chewy, but the middle stays soft even after days. Until I find another recipe I like more, this is my chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well blended.
Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Each cookie = 5P+

Note: Made like this, they are HUGE cookies, and it made about 2 dozen. Next time I might actually use a rounded over tablespoon instead. They also spread out a ton, so I might also experiment with putting them in the fridge a little bit before they go in the oven so they're a rounder cookie, instead of flat.

Guacamole

First attempt at making guacamole: pretty much a success. I didn't even have guacamole or avacado until this year, because I always thought I didn't like it? Well, I do. And I apologize for the pictures, I'm using my phone until I find the memory card for my camera. They don't do it justice, it looked beautiful.

Guacamole
adapted from www.simplyrecipes.com


2 Ripe Avocados (You want to be able to push the skin in a little - but not too much, or they're overripe)
1/3 cup minced red onion
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of lime or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1/2 diced ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed

Cut avocados in half and remove seed. Scoop out from the skin and put in mixing bowl.
Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the cilantro, onion, lime or lemon, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and mix in.

I found that I wasn't too keen on the onion, so next time I will probably use a little less. To try to even out the taste, I stirred in some sour cream and it made it better.

Also - depending on how chunky you want it, you can either just mix everything in like that, or put everything but the avocado in the food processor, and then just mix it in. I did it that way, because I wanted a smoother guacamole.
Enjoy!

I'm baaaaaaaack

Ok, so:

I had a blog before. Didn't keep up with it at all. But... that was during the summer, I worked full time, and came home to a meal made by my mommy. But now, I actually have time to do this.

I'm up for round two. Ding ding ding.
A little about me:

I'm 20 years old, and live in western Pennsylvania. I'm going to school for Information Systems and minoring in Business Administration. I'm obsessed with cooking, baking, etc. I'm also obsessed with good Italian food, chocolate, ice cream, bread, carbs, anything terrible for you.
That should be good for now. I'll get this up and running in no timeee.